In-Season Tech Tools

After the planters are parked back in the shed and the chains are oiled, corn and soybean growers can start to monitor key growing season benchmarks. Online and mobile tools turn raw data into decision-making information.

If spring weather proves challenging, growers who purchased crop insurance can use online calculators to make decisions on prevented-planting insurance claims, replant options, hail damage estimates, and other potential losses with the PHI Insurance Calculators.

Corn growers can calculate their crop’s progress with a growing degree unit (GDU) estimator on Pioneer.com. Users can enter their zip code and planting date to get field-by-field crop progress and a 14-day forecast.

Growers can also tap into a cost of production calculator on Pioneer.com or click on available links to choose calculators from 16 state universities. The Pioneer.com calculator evaluates the costs and returns of corn and soybean cropping systems. To run the calculator, you can either use predetermined variable costs based on figures calculated by Iowa State Extension or your own variable costs or figures calculated by your nearest college of agriculture. To get started, growers input their expected market prices, planted acres, and expected yield.